Please Rotate Your Device

Thank You!

Home
  • Simplify My Lease
  • Search
  • Hammer
  • Who We Are
  • Clients
  • Why We Exist
  • Resources
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Simplify My Lease
  • search

Contact Lease Ref

  • Who We Are
  • Clients
  • Why We Exist
  • Resources
    • Lease Advice Articles
    • Infographics
    • Glossary of Terms
    • Case Studies
    • FAQs
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Lease Advice Articles
  • Infographics
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Case Studies
  • FAQs
Glossary of Terms Banner

Glossary of Commercial Real Estate Terms

The best glossary of commercial real estate terms in the world. Period.

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Search by Category Search Alphabetically

Commercial Real Estate Terms

R
Term Definition
Rail Door

A door with access to railroad tracks.  Goods can be loaded and unloaded directly from the building. 

Raw Space

Premises in a concrete shell condition and without leasehold improvements.  See also Base Building Shell. 

Real Estate Investment Trust

Otherwise known as a REIT.  A company that sells shares in a real estate portfolio.   

Recording the Lease

In some regions, the Landlord will record the entire lease or a short form of the lease in the county governmental offices.  A recorded lease is considered to be an encumbrance on the property.  In some states a lease for a period over 10 years must be recorded and, for state transfer tax reasons, is considered a sale and taxed as such.

Rehab

Short form for rehabilitation, an extensive renovation to a building.  

REIT

Real Estate Investment Trust.  Modeled after mutual funds, a REIT is a company that sells shares in a large real estate portfolio.  Shareholders can invest in large scale real estate projects without having to purchase any property.  

Relocation Right

A landlord's right to relocate a tenant to another similar-sized and premises within the building or complex.  Normally the landlord will pay for the cost of construction and relocation.  Depending on negotiating leverage, tenants can typically remove this clause, or ask for restrictions such as not paying for additional square footage (if the space is larger), must no lower than a certain floor, or must be facing the same direction (north-facing views for example). 

Remedies of Default

Actions a tenant can take to repair the status of being in default of a lease.  The most common act of default is failure to pay rent, with the remedy of making good on those overdue payments.   

Renewal Option

A tenant's right to remain in the premises on the same terms and conditions as the lease for a determined length of time.  The renewal rental rate is typically at market rents, but it could be at fixed rates.  By exercising the renewal right the tenant is not able to improve other terms within the lease and cannot negotiate incentives such as a tenant allowance or free rent.  

Rent Free

A time period granted to a tenant to occupy the premises at no cost as an incentive to signing a lease. 

Rent Roll

A detailed listing of tenancies within a building with accompanying lease details, rent, premises size, and expiry dates.  

Rentable Area

Includes the usable area, plus a pro rata portion of a building's common areas, excluding vertical penetrations of the floor, such as elevators, stairs, mechanical risers, etc.

Rentable/Usable Factor

The mathematical relationship between rentable and usable areas in commercial real estate is often referred to as the efficiency factor. The efficiency factor can be expressed as a decimal or percentage and in some areas, real estate practitioners refer to this as the conversion or add-on or gross up factor.

Application

A tenant has 10,000 square feet of usable area, but pays rent on 12,000 square feet of rentable area.  The gross up factor is 20% (12,000/10,000), which means that the extra 2,000 square feet the tenant pays rent on is their proportionate share of building common areas (hallways, washrooms, ground floor lobby).

Representation Agreement

A written agreement between a tenant and real estate brokerage to authorize the brokerage to act on behalf of a tenant in furthering a trade in real estate. 

Restrictive Covenant

A limitation placed on the use of property contained in the title for the property. More specifically, a contract between two landowners, by which the person obtaining the promise acquires the right to restrain the covenant tour from putting the land to specific uses.

Right of First Refusal

See also First Right of Refusal.  A landlord's duty to allow a tenant with this right to "match" a negotiated deal with a third party. 

Right of Second Offer

Once a premises becomes available for lease, a landlord must offer the space to the tenant who has a right of first offer to lease.  A right of second offer applies to any tenant that must be contacted after the tenant with the right of first offer right and the general public.  Failing agreement to lease the premises, the landlord is free to lease the space to any third party.  

Right of Second Refusal

A landlord's duty to allow a tenant with this right to "match" a negotiated deal with a third party, once another party with the first right has declined their option.  

Right to Demolish

A right occasionally included in a lease document providing that the landlord shall have the right to alter or demolish any or all of the existing buildings on the property.  The most common application is for a small building to be demolished to create a larger building.  Typically tenants do not have any recourse and do not receive any compensation from the landlord. 

Lease Ref Levels The Playing Field For Commercial Tenants

See How We Do It

Our Most Popular Posts

  • Letter of Intent: A Tenant Guide
  • 6 Tips to Negotiating a Killer Lease
  • Personal Guarantees: A Complete Guide
  • Tenant Improvement Allowance: A Tenant Guide
  • The Biggest Scam in Commercial Real Estate
  • Renewing Your Commercial Real Estate Lease
  • Right of First Refusal: A Complete Guide

Resources

  • Lease Advice Articles
  • Infographics
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Case Studies
  • FAQs
  • Blog
File
lease-ref_tenant-checklist.pdf
Ebook Image

Download Your Free Ebook Today!

45 pages, 1,000 checklist items, and over 20 years in the making.

Download Now

CALL US NOW

888-238-6712

Get Blog Posts Via Email
The subscriber's email address.

Verified Secure Checkout

stripevisamasterexpressbbbPrivacy Seals100

We insure that your information is kept 100% protected and private.

2019 Lease Ref. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Term and Conditions

top